HISTORY (General)

Philip N. Alexander. A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.How MIT’s first nine presidents helped transform the Institute from a small technical school into a major research university.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

David Kaiser, ed. Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2010.Essays on crucial decisions that influenced the evolution of MIT.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Angulo, A. J. William Barton Rogers and the Idea of MIT. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.An exploration of the educational philosophy of MIT’s founder.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Stratton, Julius A., and Loretta H. Mannix. Mind and Hand: The Birth of MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005.Find it at the MIT Libraries.An account of the origins, founding, and early years of MIT.

Wylie, Francis E. M.I.T. in Perspective: A Pictorial History of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Boston: Little, Brown, 1975.Find it at the MIT Libraries.The only general history of MIT. Though missing the last quarter of the 20th century, it gives a good overview of the Institute.

Prescott, Samuel C. When M.I.T. Was “Boston Tech,” 1861-1916. Cambridge, Mass.: Technology Press, 1954.Find it at the MIT Libraries.The story of MIT’s early history, up to the move to Cambridge. A relatively easy read.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology; A Brief Account of Its Foundation, Character, and Equipment. Boston: Published by the Institute for use at the St. Louis Exposition, 1904.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Bruce, James L. “The Rogers Building and Huntington Hall.” Proceedings of the Bostonian Society and Report of the Annual Meeting, January 21, 1941, pp. 29-38.

Mid-century; The Social Implications of Scientific Progress. Verbatim account of the discussion held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the occasion of its Mid-century Convocation, March 31, April 1 and April 2, 1949. Edited and annotated by John E. Burchard. Published jointly by the Technology Press, Cambridge, and Wiley, New York, 1950.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Maslanka, John S. “A Century of Technology.” Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1961.Find it at the MIT Libraries.A reprint of a special supplement appearing in Technique, 1961.

MIT 125 Years. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986.Find it at the MIT Libraries.A booklet produced by MIT’s Quasquicentennial Committee and the Alumni Association giving a brief history of MIT and a timeline.

Cambridge and MIT: Chronologies. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Museum; Office of Government and Community Relations; Public Service Center; Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office, 1992.Find it at the MIT Libraries.Booklet depicting the timeline on the platform of the Kendall/MIT Red Line T stop.

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HISTORY (Departments/Programs)

Guttig, John V. , ed. The Electron and the Bit: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1902-2002. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, 2005.Find it at the MIT Libraries.A collection of materials assembled in honor of the centennial of the department, tied together by text written by Paul Penfield, Dugald Jackson Professor of Electrical Engineering.

Abelmann, Walter H., ed. The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology: The First 25 Years 1970-1995. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by the Harvard University Press, 2004.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Blackmer, Donald L. M. The MIT Center for International Studies: The Founding Years, 1951-1969. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Center for International Studies, 2002.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Levey, Debbie, ed. The Only Constant Is Change: 135 Years of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. Millennium Colloquium and Alumni Day, March 19-22, 2000. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2000.

XIII-A, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: One Hundred Years. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Department of Ocean Engineering, 2000.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Garfinkel, Simson. Architects of the Information Society: 35 Years of the Laboratory for Computer Science at MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Mattill, John. The Flagship: The M.I.T. School of Chemical Engineering Practice, 1916-1991. Cambridge, Mass.: David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, MIT, 1991.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Reintjes, J. Francis. Numerical Control: Making a New Technology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Servomechanisms Laboratory/Electronic Systems Laboratory.

Bever, Michael B. Metallurgy and Materials Science and Engineering at MIT: 1865-1988. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Shrock, Robert Rakes. Geology at M.I.T., 1865-1965: A History of the First Hundred Years of Geology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1977.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

R.L.E.: 1946 + 20. Cambridge, Mass.: Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT, 1966. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Essays on the history of the lab by its directors and staff.

Shillaber, Caroline. Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning, 1861-1961: A Hundred Year Chronicle. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1963.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

A History of the Departments of Chemistry and Physics at the M.I.T., 1865-1933. Cambridge, Mass.: Technology Press, 1933.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Compton, Karl T. A Scientist Speaks; excerpts from addresses by Karl Taylor Compton during the years 1930-1949 when he was president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Undergraduate Association, 1955.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Killian, James Rhyne. The Education of a College President: A Memoir. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1985. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Memoir of MIT’s 10th president and his excursions into the public sector.

Killian, James Rhyne. Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower: A Memoir of the First Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1982.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

James Killian Memorial Service booklet [includes excerpts of comments].

Science and the Educated Man: Selected Speeches of Julius A. Stratton, with a foreword by Elting E. Morison. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1966.Find it at the MIT Libraries.Includes his inaugural address delivered June 15, 1959; Centennial Convocation address delivered at MIT, April 9, 1961; and several MIT commencement speeches; as well as speeches outside the Institute.

Johnson, Howard Wesley. Holding the Center: Memoirs of a Life in Higher Education. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999.Find it at the MIT Libraries.Autobiography of MIT’s 12th president with particular attention to his and MIT’s coping with issues surrounding the Vietnam War. Book contains biographical index to MIT names.

MIT CULTURE

For exhibits in the Institute Archives and Special Collections about sports, summer excursions, exams, theatricals, and more, see Exhibits by Subject.

Keyser, Samuel Jay. Mens et Mania: The MIT Nobody Knows. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.Find it at the MIT Libraries.Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Keyser has written an entertaining memoir of his academic and administrative adventures at MIT.

Garvin, Robert V. We Were Young Then: The Founding of the MIT Rugby Club. The MIT Rugby Club, 2004. [Available through the MIT Press Bookstore.]

Williams, Rosalind H. Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002.Find it at the MIT Libraries.Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology and former Dean of Undergraduates, Williams reflects on the changing culture of MIT.

Onorato, Joseph, and Mark Schupack. Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT: The First Fifty Years. Tech Model Railroad Club, 2002. [Available through the MIT Press Bookstore.]

White, Pepper. The Idea Factory: Learning to Think at MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001. Find it at the MIT Libraries.An undergraduate’s view of life at MIT.

Haverson, Ira, and Tiffany Fulton-Pearson, eds., Is This The Way To Baker House? A Compendium of MIT Hacking Lore. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Museum, 1996.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Hapgood, Fred. Up the Infinite Corridor: MIT and the Technical Imagination. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1993.Find it at the MIT Libraries.A look into the creative mindset of MIT. The author uses some MIT research to follow the thinking of MIT faculty, staff and students.

Leibowitz, Brian M. The Journal of the Institute for Hacks, Tomfoolery & Pranks at MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Museum, 1990.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

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MIT SPACES

Mitchell, William J. Imagining MIT: Designing a Campus for the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007, 2011.Find it at the MIT Libraries.The story of the evolution of the MIT campus, culminating in major works of architecture by Charles Correa, Frank Gehry, Steven Holl, Fumihiko Maki, and Kevin Roche.

Simha, O. Robert. MIT Campus Planning, 1960-2000: An Annotated Chronology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, Office of the Executive Vice President, 2001.Find it at the MIT Libraries.A chronicle of campus building in the latter half of the 20th century, written by long-time MIT planner Robert Simha.

Cohen, Joshua, and Kenneth R. Manning, eds. Asking the Right Questions: A Colloquium Celebrating the 50th Anniversary, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Cambridge: MIT, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Dertouzos, Michael L., Richard K. Lester, and Robert M. Solow. Made in America: Regaining the Productive Edge. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,1989. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Report of the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity.

Creative Renewal in a Time of Crisis. Report of the Commission on MIT Education, November 1970. Find it at the MIT Libraries.The Commission, which included 8 faculty members and 4 students, looked broadly at education and society, including undergraduate education at MIT.

Allen, Jonathan, ed. March 4: Scientists, Students, and Society. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1970. Find it at the MIT Libraries.A record of a series of talks and panel discussions sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists at MIT and held on March 3 and 4, 1969.

Government Supported Research at MIT, an Historical Survey beginning with World War II, the Origins of the Instrumentation and Lincoln Laboratories, a staff report prepared for reference purposes. Office of the Chairman of the Corporation, May 1969.

MIT. Review Panel on Special Laboratories (aka Pounds Panel). Final Report, October, 1969. Cambridge, 1969.Find it at the MIT Libraries.The Panel was formed in April 1969 to examine relationships between MIT and Lincoln Lab and MIT and the Instrumentation Lab.

DIVERSITY

A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT: how a committee on women faculty came to be established by the Dean of the School of Science, what the committee and the Dean learned and accomplished, and recommendations for the future. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Ruina, Edith. Women in Science and Technology: A Report on the Workshop on Women in Science and Technology, held May 21, 22, and 23, 1973, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by the MIT Press, 1973.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Kannenberg, Susan Lippman. “100 Years of Women at MIT; Preliminary Report of a Survey of Former M.I.T. Women Sudents.” Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1973.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Women and the Scientific Professions: The MIT Symposium on American Women in Science and Engineering. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1967. Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Williams, Clarence G. Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941-1999. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Result of hundreds of oral history interviews. This large volume includes interviews with students, alumni/ae, faculty, and staff.

MIT AND WORLD WARS I and II

Buderi, Robert. The Invention that Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technological Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.Find it at the MIT Libraries.

Five Years at the Radiation Laboratory. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991. Find it at the MIT Libraries.Originally presented to members of the Radiation Laboratory by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1946.